Brownsville looks to secure new tenant for former art museum

BROWNSVILLE, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Brownsville is looking for someone to take over the building that formerly housed the Brownsville Museum of Fine Art.

The city invited organizations or consortiums to contact them if they were interested in taking over the space.

City officials said that, after lengthy discussions, it was decided purchasing the building itself would be the best course of action.

A Facebook post announcing the city was inviting Requests for Information called it a unique, adaptive reuse opportunity.

According to Brownsville City Manager Helen Ramirez, the museum came to the city because it was having trouble keeping up with day-to-day operations.

Ramirez said the city invested more than $300,000 repairing a skylight in the building, but became clear the museum would need even more assistance.

“We tried to assist as much as we can, but we ultimately both realized that it would need to transition in order to have a long-term sustainability," Ramirez said.

The City Manager said the process wasn't done quickly but happened after months of discussions with the Executive Director and museum board.

Brownsville hired a museum consultant who hosted multiple community workshops stretching from last November through January of this year.

“Over 200 people in our community, from non-profits to developers, to business community to residents, they all gave their input through a survey, through a community input, to see what they want," Ramirez said.

The building is located in Linear Park, near the Gladys Porter Zoo and just a few blocks from Market Square. Ramirez said Brownsville was looking for an occupant or organization to take over the building that would fit in with that area, as well as the Mitte Cultural District as a whole.

“Culture, arts, education. Maybe possibly a culinary aspect," Ramirez said, "There’s so many different aspects of what arts is, and what a cultural district can be.”

A city spokesperson said Brownsville received several responses to its Request For Information

City officials will continue their review process and bring them to the City Commission when that step is completed.